State Rep. Gina Johnsen has voted against a $82.5 billion spending plan that prioritizes pet projects over the critical needs of Michigan’s families and children in the new state budget.

Johnsen said the plan relies on a tax increase that has families, seniors and small businesses handing over more of their hard-earned money to the state, while raiding teachers’ retirement accounts to the tune of $670 million. Meanwhile, the budget drastically reduces school safety funding.

“We’ve seen tragedy strike in our schools and we responded by investing in efforts to eliminate those risks moving forward,” Johnsen said. “The wise move would be to continue those investments proactively instead of waiting for another horrific event to ramp up funding for student safety and mental health again. I can’t support this budget that turns our backs on our kids.”

The new budget cuts school safety and mental health grant funding by more than $300 million, leaving just $26.5 million to help schools fund resource officers, mental health services, and other critical programs that protect kids. Following the passage of the budget, the teacher’s union even issued a public statement calling for the Legislature to rethink the school safety cuts and pass supplemental funding to back student mental health and safety efforts.

The statement from MEA President and CEO Chandra Madafferi reads:

“There were deep cuts to categorical funding for school safety and student mental health — cuts that will need to be navigated at the local level to keep our schools safe learning spaces for all students and employees. Our hope is that state lawmakers will return after the summer break to pass a supplemental budget that funds these critical student mental health and safety priorities.”

In addition to school safety cuts, the per-pupil funding increase did not see an increase for the first time in many years. A move that Zorn says shows where Democrat’s priorities truly lie.

Things that are instead included in the budget plan include pet projects like a $7.5 million drone program, $3 million in incentives for people who purchase e-bikes, and a $25 million program to build state-owned EV charging stations received funding. A commission to coordinate a celebration marking the U.S. semiquincentennial two years from now also received $5 million.

“Democrats continue to be completely clueless when it comes to prioritizing what really matters,” Johnsen said. “This budget plan benefits very specific projects in targeted areas of the state rather than focusing on universal statewide necessities like infrastructure, safety, and essential services.”

The budget also funds hundreds of millions of dollars in pork projects that were added at the last minute, including $17 million for zoos in Lansing and Metro Detroit, $2.5 million for professional baseball stadiums, $5 million for a Detroit theater, $18 million for various public and private sports facilities, $1.9 million for a pool in Saginaw, and $300,000 to cover public Wi-Fi in downtown Detroit.

A $500 million earmark is included in the budget for the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) fund, which funds handouts for big corporations that promise to invest in economic development projects, even though needed reforms to improve transparency and accountability have not been made.

Despite Johnsen’s objection, the new state budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 was pushed through the House early this morning in two party-line votes.

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